I was on my way to pick a buddy of mine up earlier this week and I drove by a little hole in the wall dealership and I noticed that there was a Z24 sitting there I hadn't seen before. I got a chance to stop and check it out a little tonight, little info:

1997 Cavalier Z24
120,901 miles
5 speed
standard options and stuff

How much should I offer for the car? I couldn't really tell if it had any body damage or anything in the dark, but the interior looked to be in good condition (it was unlocked).

i would take it to a shop before i would buy it you never know if it was in an accident or not and carfax is not always right. I mean if they got into a wreck and didnt claim it then you will be screwed. Thats what happened to me i bought a car off someone and it ended up costing me about 4500 in repairs if not more and then to boot after i got it back it started to act up again and i ended up selling it for junk. All im trying to tell you is be carefull because you get what you pay for.

i would take it to a shop before i would buy it you never know if it was in an accident or not and carfax is not always right. I mean if they got into a wreck and didnt claim it then you will be screwed. Thats what happened to me i bought a car off someone and it ended up costing me about 4500 in repairs if not more and then to boot after i got it back it started to act up again and i ended up selling it for junk. All im trying to tell you is be carefull because you get what you pay for.

well if they sold it knowing there was major @!#$ wrong with it you could have taken them to court over it.

If you do have a background check done at the dealership, than the car should qualify for buyback gaurantee, so if there really is a brand on the title and it doesn't show up in the carfax report, your guaranteed 100% refund of your money. Price wise i wouldn't consider asking any more than pyros777 suggested, they couldn't have taken the care in for much more than 800 or so buxs, 1000 at the most.
Hope it helps.

If they say AS-IS get it checked out heavily.. i bought my Z as-is.. week later #1 and #4 bearing spun.. called the District Attorney and she told me that since i bought it As-Is i had nothing to go by.. And that i couldnt prove they knew something was wrong.. This dealership was small, cars crammed into a small lot, and was sumwhat hidden.. i was driving in Fort Wayne and i caught it on through the side of my eye.. well the 1/4 panel and Z24 wheel..the guy was asking 3600 and i got it for 2500 so that shoulda been another sign..that he wasnt worried about loosing a grand on it..
I even took it to Sears during the test drive(hour half test drive haha) and sears told me everything they checked looked fine but couldnt get into it very heavily it not being mine.. Just watch out.

I bought this car for 2500, wrote a check right there and took it home.. spent 1200 3 weeks later as a total for the engine swap needed instead of rebuilding it. And 2 weeks ago i just had to replace the Starter and Alternator, and then i also replaced the fuel pump(replaced the fuel filter after the engine swap too) and got a optima red top while i was at it..Next is either Tie-rod or Ball Joint(gotta find out what the pop noise is), and the front Hub Assemblies and studs(by choice after looking at them).. And i need to replace the Rear pass drum cuz something fell outta align. so if i brake hard that wheel locks up sumtimes so i gotta ease to a stop till i get it fixed..